Ailment: Mites (demodex mites)

Remedy: Bird and nest cleanup

Comment posted by Lisa AD of Sarasota, Florida, USA on 24 May 2022 at 4:53       5348

YES
For the past nine months we first thought we had bird mites then I thought it was Demodex. I found the person commenting on bird nests on the property and bird mites traveling through the air to be very interesting. We have a large Bougainvillea with tons of bird nests inside it in the corner of our property but not touching our house. An entomologist told me it had to be touching the house to cause problems, but I believe what I read here was correct. We are now considering cutting down that tree. We have cut down most of the other trees on our property but our neighbours have plenty.
I use MSM soap every night before bed as shampoo and MSM lotion. This has 90% killed the mites in the house. Our car is still infected. I’m wondering if MSM diluted in water sprayed in my car might help. Has anybody had any luck with MSM and water, like putting a few spoonfuls of MSM in water and soaking things in it?

Reply from David Niven Miller:
Living birds are required in a nest for the nest to be a source of mites. The biting-stage mites can only live for a week without a host, so a week after the birds have gone so has the source of infection. For this reason it is probably not necessary to disinfect your car – unless somehow it is right next to an occupied nest and keeps getting re-infected.

Question posted by Cara Domings of Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States on 7 September 2021 at 7:43       5314

33 y o female in New England here. After visiting the ophthalmologist and dermatologist and doing some research, I'm definitely suffering from some sort of demodex issue, even though it's mild. I've had problems since living in dorm housing in college. It's caused lesions on my cheeks, blepharitis and ocular rosacea, hair loss, chronic inflammation on my face, eyebrow loss. Does anyone have any connection with environmental factors living in an apartment building, living in a tightly spaced neighborhood like the downtown of a city or housing district? I also wonder if this has to do with the state of the immune system? Does stress or a slightly compromised immune system have anything to do with susceptibility to mites? Is it all just a vicious cycle, where you'e stressed in your home space, which compromises your immune system, which then makes you a host for mites, which then causes more stress? I also was reading about bird mites that can be a consequence of trees with lower lying branches that are near to windows in homes. It makes sense. I also was reading that mites like wetter, warmer environments much like humans. I'm ready to leave my home for a while and also prior to it, ask the neighbors to cut back their trees that are coming into the backyard of my apartment. It's thickly settled where I live. I'd like to try going away from the environment and seeking some sort of retreat somewhere to heal my body in a colder environment. Or maybe move...

From David Niven Miller:
Yes, stress weakens the immune system and makes people more susceptible to mites. Please read the pages on Grow Youthful concerning demodex mites and bird mites, which explain their transmission. (see Ailments, Mites) Having trees around is great, and there is no need to cut them back unless there is a birds nest by a window AND the nest has bird mites AND you are showing symptoms of bird mite infestation.

Comment posted by Amanda of Colorado , Colorado, USA on 20 September 2019 at 16:52       5180

In reply to Itchy scratchy of Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand on 22 November 2017 comment number 4840
This sounds like morgellons, not demodex mites. Epsom salts is efficient for morgellons, but it mostly has to do with fabric. Washing and cleaning cloths and soaking them in epsom salts will help as well. I use both borax and epsom salt and soak my clothes one hour submerged in water. I consider morgellons more fungal than a mite.

Comment posted by Itchy scratchy of Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand on 22 November 2017 at 19:6       4840

I am so grateful I found this site and comments that are exactly like my experience! I have been living under par health wise for 1-2 years. Our latest results for children and me have all come back with auto immune disease, relapsing fever, encephalitis. I conducted a thorough search of our home and found evidence of bed bugs, but fell into dismay when I eradicated them only to be left with the skin crawling sensation and constant exhaustion. I’m sending skin scrapings to a lab for correct identification. It is clear to me that we are dealing with some sort of mite infestation. We are on day 20 of our intensive cleaning routine and our lives have been altered dramatically. My partner had success with Navratna oil I got from an Indian market shop, mostly used in Nepal for long hair cleanliness and meditation. It had a most beneficial effect on the scratches and to calm the skin. But it didn’t seem to aid our children. After what I saw coming out of my skin I couldn’t believe my children had nothing in their skin, so we all went to the doctor. Our regime is we bathe the entire family twice daily in an Epsom salt bath then we dry and apply coconut oil and stand with it in for up to 20mins. The children had no results from this and we only got results with pyrethrum cream. I feel very conflicted using this though. We leave it on all night, and then shower and wash the next day, then when we apply moisturiser coconut oil, and end up with a wipe away of tiny black things! They could almost be mistaken for tiny fluff bits from a towel, but they are not! The crawling sensation is almost driving me mad, I will be looking into enzyme sprays and am so grateful to read these comments as I feel at least some psychological relief, like I have avenues to follow up. I will also go looking for bird’s nests tomorrow! It is not clear to me where we are on this journey or how long we have been on it, but I am just so glad to be looking at it with other human beings... even if it is via internet. Thank you thank you for sharing your unfortunate experience.

Comment posted by David Niven Miller of Perth, WA, Australia on 30 June 2015 at 19:44       3542

Reply to Karl Sachsenheimer of Sylva, NC
You CAN recover from and prevent a bird mite infection. The key is to clean up the source of bird mites, usually a nearby infected nest. See Bird Mites on the main Ailments & remedies menu for details of how they infect humans, symptoms, and how to prevent and recover from the infection.

Comment posted by Karl Sachsenheimer of Sylva, NC, USA on 30 June 2015 at 11:11       3539

YES
I have rid myself of mites by leaving my environment for weeks... Came back and had them within 10 hours. You people don't have Demodex mites - you have bird mites. They cannot be killed. The chance of getting rid of them is 0-4 out of 10. Try INTERNAL borax treatment. Its your only other option. It works but read how to use it on this website. On the plus side, your hair and skin will be AWESOME!